The present invention relates to a scanner that converts analog information of a 35MM color transparency (slide) into digital information for storage in a computer memory.
Photographic images accessible to computer users can enhance and improve a large spectrum of business, professional, educational, and scientific activity. By way of example, design professionals use photographic images as a point of departure for computer-aided design: for an architect, the photographic image may be of a site for a home or a building; for a product designer, the photographic image may be of a precursor product; for a package designer, the photographic image may be of a grocery store rack. Photographic images may also provide elements of a design: a landscape architect can work from an image data base of terrain, plants, and neighboring structures; an architect can work from an image data base of different materials in different colors and textures; a designer can create the outline of a proposed object and instruct a computer to fill in the outline with the color and texture of the materials selected from the computer's image data base.
Current devices that convert color photographic images into digital information capable of storage in a computer have shortcomings. Digitizing cameras scan photographic objects and provide digital information of high resolution. But the resolution comes at a high price. Reasons for the high cost include the requirements of a heavy camera stand to hold the camera steady and a separate illumination system and color separation filters. Digitizing cameras also need trained operators, plenty of room, and virtually a vibration-free environment; any significant vibrations during an exposure will ruin a scan. Video cameras can shoot slides and convert the image to digital signals by standard "frame grabbers". While inexpensive, the quality of the image retrieved is intrinsically limited, since the electronics of video produce geometric distortions and limited resolution.
Ideally, an analog-to-digital slide scanner produces high-quality, digital information from a slide quickly, easily, and at modest cost.